The Road Not Taken
by Joseph Haney
Summary: After publicly annoucing his feelings for Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy must face his father.


As the Hogwarts Express approached Kings Cross Station, Scorpius Malfoy felt a growing sense of panic. He knew that what he and Rose were planning had implications that were bigger than they had considered for both of their families. The potential for everything to go wrong was staggering, and he was seriously considering backing out.

At that moment, as though she could read his mind, Rose took his hand. "Are you okay?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah," Scorpius lied, forcing a smile. "I'm fine."

"You know, for a Slytherin, you're a lousy liar," Rose teased, squeezing his hand. "What's wrong? Is it your father again?"

He briefly considered denying it, but decided against it and nodded. "I know I shouldn't worry about it, but I can't help but think about how he'll react when we do this."

"No, it's okay," Rose said. "I mean, I worry about what my dad's going to say, and I can only imagine that it's worse for you." She squeezed his hand and sighed. "If you don't think you're ready for this, we don't have to do this today."

"No," Scorpius said, with a strengthened resolve that surprised him a little. "We can't keep ducking around this. We owe it to them to let them know the truth-no matter what they have to say about it."

Rose smiled and kissed his cheek. "I knew there was a reason I liked you," she said with a small laugh.

Before they could discuss it any further, the train pulled into the station and the students started disembarking. "Are you ready?" Rose asked as she stood.

"As I'll ever be," Scorpius said with a sigh as he stood and opened the door to their compartment. Together they walked out of the car and onto the platform. After a moment of searching, Rose pointed down the platform.

"There are my mum and dad," she said, indicating a waving couple fighting the crowds to get to them.

"And there are my parents," Scorpius said, nodding in the opposite direction as his parents were doing the same. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Rose. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," she said, showing her nervousness for the first time. He gave her a small smile, and, with a last sideways glance at his parents to make sure they could see him, stepped in and kissed her. He felt her kiss him back and suddenly all worries about what his father would have to say disappeared. He didn't care about that anymore. He knew that this was right, and his father would just have to live with it.

They pulled apart a few seconds later. "Did they see it?" he asked Rose. She glanced toward her parents, who had now stopped moving in shock. "I'm going to say yes," she said.

Scorpius looked at his parents, noting the lividity of his father's posture and the lack of color on his face. "Same here," he said. "So I guess now we face the lions."

"I guess so," Rose said. "You're sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said with a small smile. "I'll write you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Rose said. She squeezed his hand and then made her way through the crowd toward her parents.

Scorpius took a deep breath and walked toward his parents. "Mum, Dad," he said with a small nod when he approached them. "How are you?"

* * *

The trip home, though brief, had been awkward, largely due to the fact that Scorpius had fully expected his father to yell at him upon their arrival at the house. But Draco didn't yell. He didn't even raise his voice when he told Scorpius to go to his room and wait to be called back down.

Now, almost three hours later, Scorpius was getting restless. He hadn't unpacked his trunk in anticipation of the very real possibility that he would be ordered from the house at any moment. Instead he had simply lain on his bed, staring at the large Slytherin crest he had painted on the ceiling as soon as he had gotten his acceptance letter to Hogwarts, getting up periodically to pace around the room.

Several times he considered writing Rose, but each time he dismissed the idea. She was no doubt dealing with her father and a letter from him at this point would probably do more harm than good. And so Scorpius continued to wait and go over what he was going to say when his father summoned him.

Just as he was about to walk out of his room and confront his father, there was a knock on his bedroom door. "Come in," he said.

The door opened, revealing his mother standing in the hallway. "Your father wants to see you in his study, Scorpius," she said.

Scorpius nodded and walked out of the room, trying to read his mother's mood as he passed. She didn't seem to be terribly upset, but then she usually kept her emotions to herself. Scorpius walked past her and down the stairs, taking a left to head toward his father's study.

The dark doors had always produced a heavy feeling in Scorpius' chest because the only time he had ever been inside them was when he was in trouble. Taking a deep breath, he knocked three times on the door, the sound echoing in the large, empty house.

"Come in, Scorpius," said his father's voice from the other side of the door. Scorpius steadied his nerves and pushed the door open.

"Close the door," Draco directed from his chair behind his desk.

Scorpius did so, and then crossed the room to stand in his usual spot, roughly five feet from the desk immediately across from his father.

"That was quite a show you put on today with the Weasley girl," Draco said, looking his son in the eye. "I assume it was for my benefit?"

"Yours and her father's, sir," Scorpius said.

"And were you trying to give us heart attacks?"

Scorpius bit back a laugh before answering. "We-Rose and I-have been dating for a little over a year now, and we knew we needed to tell you. I thought that the only way you would believe it was to see it. She agreed, hence the kiss on the platform."

"I see," Draco said. He lapsed into silence and Scorpius seized the opportunity to make his case.

"Listen dad," he began, taking a step toward the desk. "I know that my dating Rose will present problems for you with some of your friends, given that her family isn't exactly looked upon favorably by them. And I hope it doesn't come to this, but if you force me to choose between you and her, I will choose her. And you will be the one who loses in that scenario, not me." With that, Scorpius met his father's gaze and waited for what his father had to say.

"Are you finished?" Draco asked after a minute. Scorpius nodded and Draco stood and began to walk around his desk. "Then come with me," he said as he walked past Scorpius and out of his study.

Scorpius followed, confused. His father called to his mother, saying that they were going out and would be back in an hour. He then walked out of the house, Scorpius right at his heels.

"Dad, where are we going?" Scorpius asked.

"To the Weasley's," Draco said. "I think that we all need to talk about this together." With that, he apparated.

Scorpius hesitated for a moment. He hadn't expected this twist. But it had come, and he certainly couldn't let his father walk into the Weasley house alone. That wouldn't end well for anyone. Taking a deep breath he apparated after his father.

As soon as Scorpius had disapparated, he saw his father walking up the lane toward the Weasley's house. Though he was still a little unbalanced from his hurried apparation—quite frankly, it was a miracle that he hadn't splinched himself—he hurried after his father.

By the time he caught up, Draco was already knocking on the front door. After a minute, the door opened, revealing a woman that Scorpius recognized as Rose's mother, Hermione.

"Malfoy," she said, looking from Draco to his son. She looked about as confused as Scorpius felt. "What are you doing here?"

"I apologize for the intrusion," Draco said in a tone that told Scorpius that he wasn't very sorry for it at all, "but it would seem that your husband and I have something to discuss—our children." He glanced pointedly at Scorpius, who took this as a cue to nod awkwardly at Mrs. Weasley.

"I see," Mrs. Weasley said, also stealing a glance at Scorpius. "Yes, I suppose we do need to discuss this." She pulled the door open and stepped aside. "Please come in."

With a small nod, Draco stepped inside, his son right behind him. Mrs. Weasley closed the door and motioned them into the sitting room. "I'll get Ron and Rose," she said, tension clear in her voice. With a last glance at both her childhood rival and his son, she left the room. With a final glance around, Draco sat on the sofa facing the door. After a moment, Scorpius sat in an armchair opposite him.

Scorpius' nervousness, which had been growing stronger since his father announced that they were coming here, was starting to become unbearable. He was aware that his father hadn't gotten along with Rose's parents when they were in school, but he hadn't expected this level of tension between them. He awkwardly sat in the armchair, fidgeting as he waited for what was sure to be an explosive confrontation. His father, however, looked as calm as ever. If he was worried about what was coming, he didn't show it.

A few minutes later, Rose and her parents entered the room, causing both Malfoys to rise in unison. Scorpius nodded at Rose who flashed him a small smile. Though he desperately wanted to, he didn't dare return it as her father was glaring at both of him and his father. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Mr. Weasley asked in the tone of a man who was barely keeping his temper in check.

"I would have thought it was obvious," Draco calmly said. "Our children seem to have taken a liking to each other."

"And you're here to demand I put a stop to it, is that it?" Mr. Weasley snapped.

Draco let out a small sigh. "Actually, Weasley, I'm here to ask you to not put a stop to it," he said.

All of the worry Scorpius had felt up to that moment suddenly disappeared. He turned to look at his father, a feeling of proud surprise overtaking him and a smile creeping over his face for the first time since the kiss that morning. The Weasleys, on the other hand, simply looked confused. "You're…what?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"You heard me," Draco said. "I have no intention of stopping their relationship, and I would encourage you to do the same."

For a moment, no one spoke. The Weasleys looked as though they were waiting for the other shoe to drop, while Scorpius was using every ounce of restraint in his power to stop himself from bursting into tears and hugging his father. Finally, it was Rose who broke the silence. "Why would you do that?" she asked.

Draco looked at her for a moment before answering. "While I do admit that I had not considered the possibility of this relationship—and I'm sure your parents hadn't either—my son has made it clear to me that he has given this matter a great deal of thought." He glanced at his son, and Scorpius thought he saw the hint of a proud smile on his father's lips. "He told me that, should I force him to choose between your daughter and his family, he would choose the former. He also made the valid point that it would be I, not he, who would lose in that scenario. And so, while the idea of forcing him to make such a choice never entered my mind, the fact that he had already decided which path he would take showed me that he had earned my support in this matter."

"But aren't you worried about what your friends will say?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Or what your father will say?"

Draco nodded. "I have done nothing but think about that since their stunt on the train platform as, I'm sure, have you Weasley," he said, looking pointedly at Mr. Weasley. "Naturally both of our fathers will have something to say on the matter, and they will not be alone. I know exactly what my friends will say. But it's my family, not theirs. They will either have to live with it or find a new friend. As for my father, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

The Weasleys looked at each other and back to Draco. "Well, Malfoy, I don't know what to say," Mr. Weasley said.

"You don't have to say anything, Weasley. In fact, I'd prefer that you didn't say anything. I've said my piece and I think now it's up to you to think about it." He turned to Scorpius. "Come on, son. Let's go home."

Scorpius nodded and followed his father out of the room. As he passed Rose, he stopped, looked back at her parents and then leaned in, planting a kiss on her cheek. Then, with a mischievous smile at the Weasleys, he turned to follow his father, who was waiting by the door.

"Scorpius, wait," Mrs. Weasley said. Scorpius stopped and turned around. "Would you and your father like to stay for dinner?"

Scorpius, surprised by the sudden offer, turned to his father. "I'm afraid I must get home," Draco said, "but Scorpius is welcome to stay if he'd like."

Scorpius smiled and turned back to Mrs. Weasley. "I'd love to stay for dinner," he said. Mrs. Weasley nodded and walked down the hallway, presumably toward the kitchen. Mr. Weasley gave Draco a small nod and turned to follow her. Draco then walked outside to leave.

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other for a moment before they each breathed a sigh of relief and hugged each other. "I told you it wouldn't be so bad," Rose said when she pulled back. "Though I wasn't expecting him to turn up here today. Or ever."

"Me either," Scorpius said, turning to look through the door at his father, who was walking down the lane. An impulse suddenly overtook him and he turned to Rose. "Give me a minute," he said, hurrying after his father.

"Dad!" Scorpius called as he ran out the door and down the lane. Draco turned to wait for his son, who stopped a few feet away, suddenly unsure about what he was going to do. It was unusual, but then, so was everything else about this day. He took a deep breath and said, "Thanks. For everything."

Draco smiled and nodded. He then nodded at something behind Scorpius. He turned and saw Rose standing on the porch, watching them. "I'll see you when you get home, son," Draco said. With that he apparated, leaving Scorpius alone in the Weasley's front yard. Scorpius stared at the spot where his father had stood for a moment, and then he turned and walked back toward the house.


End file.
